Anything
by Hope- Suddenly I See
Summary: Sometimes, there's more than meets the eye...


**Hi guys. Sorry I've been on such a hiatus, but school got out today. I should be able to be on more often.**

Anything  
**by: -**_hope- in the name of love_

Dustpaw stared at Sandpaw as she returned from hunting bearing a large squirrel in her teeth. With a grin she dropped it onto the swelling fresh-kill pile. "Is that all you…"

"Caught?" She finished his question like always, proving that they were closer than normal denmates. "No way. You should see how much I've buried in the training hollow!"

Dustpaw smiled nervously. "Good; if Whitestorm gets angry with you for catching too little we've hardly any chance of making the Gathering together."

A foul-smelling scent caught Dustpaw's attention; he identified the former kittypet, 'Firepaw', easily. As he passed, the flame-furred tom paused and dipped his head to Sandpaw. "Hey, Sandpaw," he said comfortably. With a tense look in the brown cat's direction, he added hastily, "and Dustpaw."

Dustpaw lifted his head the fraction of inch and gazed coolly at his fellow apprentice as he walked away. A light touch to his left flank startled Dustpaw, and somehow he found himself falling into Sandpaw's eyes. Her jaw moved, speaking words he could not hear as he ached to brush his tail over her mouth and stop the needless chat.

She swished her own tail impatiently over his face. "Dustpaw," she asked irritably, "did you even hear a word of what I just said?"

He didn't deny his inattentiveness. "Honestly, no." he meowed, looking intently for her reaction. What he got in response was a soft sigh, and a repeat of the words, "Whitestorm actually said I did excellently."

A smile arched over Dustpaw's features. "That's what Darkstripe told me, too."

Sandpaw's eyes sparkled with excitement. "Then do you think that-"

"Dustpaw, Sandpaw." The pair looked up hurriedly and found themselves face-to-face with Bluestar, the leader of ThunderClan. To their immediate relief, her silver-blue fur was not bristling, but lying flat upon her shoulders.

_We aren't in trouble, then_, Dustpaw thought privately.

Bluestar waved her tail at their respective mentors; a heartbeat later Whitestorm hovered near Sandpaw and Darkstripe silently shadowed Dustpaw. "I've spoken to your mentors," the she-cat began, "and we've decided that you may attend the Gathering."

Sandpaw and Dustpaw faced each other, grinning widely.

_At last!_

-:-

Sandpaw padded near Dustpaw's shoulder, whisking her tail about excitedly. They leapt as one over a fallen tree; Dustpaw cleared it easily, glancing back to see how Sandpaw had fared. She shook one leg irritably; it had clipped the tree's branches and now bore a welt along the bone. With a brave grin she forced herself onward.

Within a few moments, they skidded to a halt. Dustpaw jumped into the air in an attempt to spot why. With a puff between each jump, he informed Sandpaw, "Bluestar's - paused - at - the - ridge's - edge." She nodded and laid her tail on his shoulder.

"Quit jumping, you're stirring up leaves and I can't hear anything but." she snapped.

"Sor-" The male cut himself off.

Rustling and low mews came from below the pair, and Sandpaw quivered in anticipation. "Can't we _go_ yet?" She complained, doing a few hops of her own to see Bluestar. The female leader flicked her tail soon after in an unspoken signal, and the ThunderClanners filed silently after her into Fourtrees's heart.

Dustpaw's eyes widened as he took in the sights; a group of RiverClan cats were clustered by a holly bush, and some vile-smelling toms lurked in the center of all four trees. A gray tom with a twisted mouth paced the top of the largest boulder Dustpaw had ever seen. His fellow Clanmates around him dispersed and filtered into small groups to discuss Clan life. Sandpaw pushed past him, flicking her tail towards a bunch of smaller-sized cats. "Let's talk to them," she suggested. He nodded in agreement.

"Hi. I'm Sandpaw. Which Clan are you from?" She directed her question at a wiry brown tabby, who twitched his ears at her.

"I'm Onepaw, from WindClan, and this is Webpaw." Onepaw nodded at a gray tabby across the way. He lifted a paw in greeting to the pretty feline.

A dark ginger she-cat spoke up. "I'm Russetpaw, from ShadowClan, and I'm the oldest. I should be made a warrior any day now," she told the others with an air of extreme superiority.

Dustpaw smiled tentatively at Russetpaw, and she smirked at him unpleasantly. He looked toward a tortoiseshell she-cat. "Who're you?" she asked, just as he was about to ask her the same.

"I'm Dustpaw." he said brilliantly.

She blinked. "My name's Mosspelt. I was just made a warrior recently, and I'm friends with Webpaw." She curled her tail around his shoulders with a grin. Webpaw shrugged away from her with a soft hiss, and Mosspelt rolled her eyes. "Really, I'm here because I'm keeping my warrior status a secret from the other Clans until later."

Sandpaw laughed, and Dustpaw joined in more quietly. "I should do that!" Sandpaw replied.

Dustpaw snickered. "No way, Sandpaw, with your big mouth every Clan will know the day of your ceremony. Forget keeping it a secret until the _Gathering_." She ground her jaw together and contented herself with smacking his flank.

Russetpaw sighed. "You guys are boring."

"You don't _have _to talk to us, y'know," Onepaw put in. She curled her lip at him and spit, her hackles bristling. Before a fight could break out, a black-and-white tom pushed through them and jumped onto the Highrock.

"Who's that?" Dustpaw asked.

A guffaw came from the ShadowClan female. "You mean you don't know? StarClan, you're hopeless." A nasty smile was beamed his way, and Russetpaw stalked over to a close-knit group of warriors.

"That's Tallstar, my leader." Webpaw said. Dustpaw gave him a grateful nod.

Bluestar climbed to the top of the leader's stone, and Crookedstar gave an impatient yowl. "Brokenstar, will you get up here?"

A battle-scarred brown tabby slunk forward, his body held low. With every step Dustpaw could see his claws raking the soft ground. "Excuse me for being sociable, Crookedstar," he purred softly. Tension spiked the air, and Sandpaw leaned into Dustpaw's side with unease. A throaty purr welled up inside the tom, but he restrained himself and tried to focus on the leaders.

That task was far easier said than done with Sandpaw's scent teasing him, drawing him into a dreamy state. She shifted a bit on his flank, and a trickle of affection felt its way into Dustpaw's mind. Mindful not to jostle Sandpaw, he shook his head, trying to clear it.

"May I speak first?" Tallstar took a pace toward Crookedstar and Bluestar.

The tabby Dustpaw had seen earlier hissed and shouldered him aside. "No, I will."

A quite rebuke came from Bluestar. "No, Brokenstar. Don't think that you can control us: we are not of your Clan and will not be treated as such." Her eyes dared the ShadowClan leader to defy her.

Silver glinted in the moonlight, and the challenge died from Bluestar's gaze. Brokenstar let out another silky purr and meowed, "Dear cats of the Clans, tonight is a night in which I appeal to you all. You may have scented some of our warriors on your territory this moon, but I assure you, it was not without good reason." He paused, and the angry yowls of enemy warriors swelled up and filled Dustpaw's heart with courage.

"Yeah right, you stinking pile of crow-food!" His voice mingled with the taunts of other warriors, most prominently WindClan. Webpaw gave him a quick dip of the head, while Sandpaw stood up fully.

"What are you thinking, antagonizing a leader like that?" she reprimanded, a fierce gleam in her eye.

He shrugged.

A long while later, Sandpaw was curling about herself in the apprentice's den. "Wasn't tonight fun, Dustpaw?"

"I suppose." Dustpaw got shorter as the night flew by, and he regretted the harsh way he'd spoken to his denmate.

When she didn't reply, he tried again. "Sandpaw… you know, I'd do anything for you."

A soft sigh came from his side, and when he turned to look at her he found himself lost in her eyes. "I know, Dustpaw." she breathed. "I know."

-:-

Dustpaw's eyes locked on Sandpaw's twisting form in the midst of the fierce battle. He raked his claws along Blackfoot's jawline. With a grunt he drove a hindleg into Blackfoot's stomach and let himself feel triumphant. He fled away from the seasoned warrior-turned-rogue and sprang for Sandpaw's side. Before he could reach her, however, Fireheart threw himself on the rogue hassling her and gave her a quick "Run!"

She shook her head vehemently and flung herself onto Clawface.

Rage warmer than the sun's surface boiled inside of Dustpaw. His claws slashed the ground furiously, and a string of inappropriate words tumbled out of his mouth. Why couldn't he have saved Sandpaw? He wanted to be a hero in her eyes…

An unlucky rogue tumbled into his side, and with twisted pleasure he began to strip away at his fur. The older cat was no match for Dustpaw's fury.

A piercing scream came from Sandpaw, but Dustpaw didn't help her this time.

Fireheart would only beat him there.

Amazingly enough, the she-cat was at his side in a matter of heartbeats. With a gasped, "Now!" from her, the pair veered into action, Dustpaw clobbered his rogue's head while Sandpaw sunk her teeth into his leg. An injured screech came from the cat, and his tail went ramrod-straight with pain.

"That was _awesome_, Dustpaw!" Her eyes glowed as she smiled at him. The brief second was over much too soon, and Dustpaw was left staring at nothing when Brokenstar crashed into him.

A few blows were traded, and with horror Dustpaw prepared to lose his life. Brokenstar wasn't even the leader of ShadowClan anymore. He was just the leader of a bunch of stinking rogues… and Dustpaw was going to die.

Fire flashed in his vision, and Dustpaw thought, _This is it. Why didn't I tell Sandpaw that I loved her?_

He gaped as the weight was wrenched off of him. Brokenstar's paws clawed through the air, tearing into nothing at all. Dustpaw weaved around to see what was happening. Fireheart held Brokenstar like a kit in his maw, and Dustpaw suddenly wished he was having the crap beat out of himself again. To make things even worse, he spotted Sandpaw staring admiringly up at the warrior with a soft look in her eye.

Dustpaw was the only cat who'd ever received that look from the feisty she-cat, and he _seethed_.

-:-

The battle was over. ThunderClan had barely prevailed, and Dustpelt lay by Sandstorm with a passion burning in his chest. "Sandstorm, do you - do you remember," he began falteringly, "when we were apprentices?"

She snorted. "Yeah, that was about two dawns ago."

"I wasn't finished!" he protested hotly. Carrying on, he added, "And we'd just returned from our first Gathering?"

A silent nod came from the ginger warrior now.

"Sandstorm, I'd still do anything for you." he finally whispered.

An awkward silence fell upon the pair, and Dustpelt wanted to snatch the words back from the air. He twitched his tail and flicked both ears, still waiting for her response.

Another heavy moment passed, and he opened his mouth. "Sandstorm?"

A soft sigh came from his side, and when he turned to look at her he found himself trying to get lost in her eyes. "I know, Dustpelt." she mewed. "I know, but right now, I just don't know what to say…"

Dustpelt quit trying to fall into her emerald orbs; they would not receive him, and suddenly he knew what he'd feared all along was correct. "Why not?" he forced himself to say. His whole body was trembling.

"Because," she muttered, "because I no longer feel the same…"

Dustpelt cursed himself. "Is it something I've done?" he pried.

"No." Her voice was firm, but not gentle. "You've done nothing wrong. I just… I've fallen for another…"

When Dustpelt spoke, it was not a question, but a statement. "Fireheart." All the contempt, fury, and helplessness he was bleeding were mixed into the name, and Sandstorm heard the emotion with a wince.

"I'm so sorry, Dustpelt…"

"No, you aren't." He turned away from her earnest face, pleading him to understand. "Sandstorm, I would have brought down the moon for you if you'd asked. But now…"

His voice trailed off, and she closed her eyes. Unable to stay that way, she met his burning glare as he proclaimed his final vow.

"Now, there isn't _anything_ I'd do for you."

-:-

**Very angsty. Please review, I'd love to know what you think. I always did feel bad for Dustpelt…  
--Hope**


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